Indicator.



O. A. KENYON.

INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.5.1915.

vPatented May 2, 1916.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, itllit'l,

.application nieu February 5, 1915. Serial No. 6,267.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, 'Oris ALLEN llnNYoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at River View Manor, Hastings-upon-lludson, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented new and useful improvements in indicators, of Whlch the following is a specification..

This invention relates to indicators, and has i'or its principal object totransmit 'the readings of a measuring device,'such as a thermometer, barometer, wind-gage, raingage, flow-meter, etc., to a distance by means oi' electricity, and to make the indications by means of light. l

l .accomplish the purpose of ymy invention by providing means for indicating the variations in a measuring instrument by circuits controlled by said measuring instrument, to control, in turn, the said light.

Preferably use a plurality ot electric lamps, the circuits of said lamps being controlled by the measuring instrument. ln the majority of cases to which my invention is applicable, measurements are taken by a c olumn of liquid rising or falling, or varying in length, according to variations in nearby conditions, such as the phenomena, oi" the earths atmosphere, water-pressure, etc., and' l have, therefore, shown the application of my invention to a device for indicating the varying length or a column ot' mercury for measuring temperature.

My invention makes it possible vto construct indicating thermometers of enormous size Without any sacrifice in'accuracyyand also Without complicating the instru-ment. Furthermore, my method of transmitting and indicating temperature' makes it possible to transmitthe indications of a single master instrument simultaneously and continuously to a number ot different points at a distance from the master instrument, the 'temperature and ,other conditions intervening between the master temperature measuring instrument and the indicator, as well as the conditions surrounding the indicator, havingrno elect Whatever on the indications.

ln ordinary thermometers using the expansion of mercury or spirit, there is a very serious limitation as to size, on account of practical diiculties of manufacture, transportation and maintenance. While there may be limit to the size Where accuracy and arranging a plurality ot electricis not taken into accou t, it is Known from experience that a mercury or spirit thermometer of a length much greater than lifteen feet is not practical. Nor is it possible to malte adial form thermometer of large proportions because the mass or weight of the parts involved is so great that friction and Wear make accurate indications impossible. Furthermore, a mercury or spirit filled thermometer is limited as to the distance from which it can be read by the Width of the mercury or spirit column, and increasing the size of the figures does not make the thermometer more easily read. rlh'e bore cannot be unduly increased in diameter because that'involves an enormous increase in the volume of the bulb. Moreover, if it were ractical greatly to increase the diameter o the bore of such a thermometer, and if this thermometer were of large proportions, it would be diiiicult to calibrate accurately, because the temperature of the column, as Well as that of the bulb, would influence the indications. With my inventionY none of these diiculties eirist, and the principles involved may be utilized to indicate the temperature in a great variety of Ways.

By my invention, light may be controlled by a temperature measuring device, such as an ordinary mercury thermometer, to represent a column similar in appearance to a column of mercury or spirit, or it may be controlled to show the thermometric indications in various other ways.

l have shown the but l do-not limit tion.

ln the accompanying drawings :-l`igure l is a tace view of an indicator embodying one of the several practical adaptations oiI the principles of mv invention. Fig. 2 represent-s a portion ot Fig. Ldrawn to a larger scale, and with a part removed. 3 is a diagram for illustrating the electrical connections between the temperature measuring device and the indicator.

Referring to Figs. l and 2, A represents a device having the appearance of a mercury or spirit thermometer with a central col umn C, simulating a column of mercury or spirit. The liront oA the column C is preierablypmade ot translucent material showing wliite or some light shade when illuminated from the iront, as bv daylight or preferred form only, myself to this construclll@ artificial lightr reflected thereon, but showing red or other deep color, when lighted' sents the device with the translucent frontremoved. Each lamp L here represents one degree of temperature, but it will be evident that the device may be constructed to have each lamp represent more or less than one degree. Figures at the side of the column C indicate the number `of degrees.

For convenience, the device thus lfar described will be referred to as the indicator, while the measuring instrument may consist of any suitable temperature measuring device. The preferred form consists of a bank or series of mercury thermometers having electric contact points sealed into the mercury tilbes, whereby, as the mercury rises in the tube it comes in contact with the points successively. The circuit of each lamp L is connected to one of these contact points and to the bulb of the measuringr therlnometer, so 'that the mercury closes thel.

lamp circuit when it has expanded to reach the contact point of that lamp, and opens the circuit when it has contracted ysufliciently to leave that Contact point.

It will be evident that I could-use a single measuring fluid column having a Contact point at each degree or fraction thereof to be indicated, or I could use a single fluid column for eachmeasurement Ito be indicated, so that the fluid makes or breaks acircuit at one measuring point only. This last arrangement permits of the greatest accuracy. But I have shown a construction in which each column hasi'several contacts ar-v thermometer T. Each lamp circuit com-V prises a contact N, a Wire IV, the lamp L, return conductor R, in which a battery or other source of electricity, E, `is included, and the mercury in a thermometer T. As the mercury M rises in the thermometers T, T, T, the circuits of the lamps in the indicator will be closed consecutively, and indicate the temperature step by step. As shown, the lamp L indicating zero temperature is connected by a wire W to the zero registration contact N in the first thermometer T; the lamp indicating one degree of temperature is connected by a wire W to the first degree contact N in the second thermometer T; the lamp indicating two degrees is connected to the second degree contact N of the third thermometer T; the lamp indicating three degrees is connected to the contact N at the third degree of' the fourthv thermometer T; and the lamp indicating four degrees is connected to the contact N at the fourth degree of the fifth thermometer.

. Then another series starts withthe lamp indicating five degrees being connected to the contact N at the fifth degree of the first thermometer T, and so on. Thus with this arrangement, the contacts N are sealed into the thermometer tubes at five measuring degrecs apart, the circuits and contacts N being in stepped relation from one thermometer to the next.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the rising and falling of the mercury M in the thermometers T, T, T, due to changes in temperature, closes and opens the circuits of the lamps L in` the indicator A, at the contacts N, in such a way that at all times all vthe lamps connected to the contacts at or below the level of the mercury measuring the temperature at the point where the mas-v ter instrument is located, are lighted, and those above are not lighted, whereby the lighted portion of the column C appears red and the unlighted portion white, thus eX- actly duplicating the appearance of a column of liquid in a thermometer, except that it rises and falls by definite steps instead of continuously.

The thermometers T, T, T, are represented in the drawings as showing forty degrees of temperature, so that the circuits of all the lamps in the indicator from the forty degree indication down are closed and the lamps lighted, and the indicator A indicates' forty degrees of temperature, no matter what the temperature surrounding the indicator may be.

It will be evident thatv the device vmay be made to measure and to indicate'degree's of temperature far belowT and far above the ,zero and 100 marks shown in the drawings.

Also that the wires W may be divided and lead to several indicators A located at various points at a distance trom the master measuring instrument. Also that this master measuring instrument may be made to measure and the indicator to indicate fractions of degrees of temperature.

Instead of using a double-colored translucent front for the column C itA will be readily seen that the lamps themselves may Y be colored, so that when lighted a colored .light-will show or will be thrown on a White transparent or translucent column front.

meinte From the foregoing it will readily be seen that my indicator may be applied to other measuring instruments that may be adapted to control a plurality of electric circuits.

l claim as my invention 1. A temperature indicator comprising a column simulating a thermometer, a plurality of electric lamps arrangedto change the appearance of the portion of said column which is intended tosimulate the liquid oi the column, a scale along the column to in dicate degrees of temperature, and a measuring instrument adapted to control the lighting of said lamps to vary the length of the portion of the column illuminated in exact correspondence with the varying temperature measured by said instrument.

2. A temperature indicator comprising a column adapted to show one color when illuminated from the rear and another color when villuminated from the front only, and indications along the column to indicate degrecs of temperature, in combination With a' temperature measuring instrument adapted to control the lighting of the said column from the rear and to vary the distance lighted in exact correspondence With the varying temperature measured by said instrument, n

3., A temperature indicator comprising a series of electric circuits and means controlled thereby to indicate di'erent degrees of temperature, in combination with a temperature measuring instrument comprising a series of mercury thermometers provided With contacts in the mercury tubes, consecutive indication circuits being controlled by dierent thermometers of the series.

4. An indicator comprising Va plurality of electric lamps arranged to indicate varying measurements, in combination with a measuring instrument consistingl of a series of fluid columns having contacts controlled by the Huid therein, the circuits of consecutive lamps being controlled by contacts in different columns..

ln testimony whereof I have signed my yname to this specification in the presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

@TIS ALLEN KENYGN.

`Viitnesses:

CHAs. S. FrsoHEn, HERBERT Mmmm. 

